Applying Online Patches to Oracle AI Database

Use Oracle Fleet Patching and Provisioning (Oracle FPP) to apply online patches to an Oracle AI Database working copy using the in-place patching method.

You can apply an online one-off patch or the online patches included in a Monthly Recommended Patch (MRP). Online patching enables you to apply patches that support online application while the selected database instances remain running.

An MRP can contain both online and offline patches. When you apply an MRP with the -online option, Oracle FPP applies the patches that support online application. Apply the offline patches in a separate maintenance operation.

Applying an Online Patch or MRP

Before you begin, ensure that the Oracle AI Database home is configured as a working copy. Review the patch readme for prerequisites and ensure that the database instances to which you want to apply the online patch are running.

Note:

Use the -online option only for patches that support online application or rollback. Applying the online patches in an MRP does not apply the offline patches in that MRP.

Extract the patch or MRP to a directory that is available on each applicable target node.
For an MRP, use the directory that contains the MRP patch directories.
Evaluate the patching operation using the rhpctl apply patch command with the -online and -eval options.
```
rhpctl apply patch -workingcopy workingcopy_name -patchloc patch_location_on_target -online -dbname unique_db_name -eval
```
Specify the name of the working copy using -workingcopy and the absolute path to the unzipped patch directory on the target using -patchloc. Specify the unique name of the database (DB_UNIQUE_NAME without DB_DOMAIN) using -dbname.

Use -eval to evaluate the impact of the operation without applying the patches. Review the evaluation results and resolve any reported errors before proceeding.
Apply the online patches by running the command without the -eval option.
```
rhpctl apply patch -workingcopy workingcopy_name -patchloc patch_location_on_target -online -dbname unique_db_name
```
Optionally, specify -patchid patch_ids to apply a subset of the online patches in the patch directory. Specify a comma-separated list of numeric patch IDs. If you omit -patchid, Oracle FPP discovers applicable patch IDs automatically.
Review the operation results and query the working copy.
```
rhpctl query workingcopy -workingcopy workingcopy_name
```
Review the Oracle home patch inventory and perform the verification steps described in the patch readme. For online patches, also verify that the patches are enabled for the selected running database instances. Working copy configuration and Oracle home inventory information alone do not establish the enabled patch state of a running instance.

Rolling Back an Online Patch

Use the rhpctl rollback patch command with the -online option to roll back online patches from a working copy.

Review the patch readme for rollback requirements.
Specify the patch IDs, working copy, and database from which you want to roll back the online patches.
```
rhpctl rollback patch -patchid patch_ids -workingcopy workingcopy_name -online -dbname unique_db_name
```
Specify a comma-separated list of patch IDs using -patchid. For an MRP, specify the IDs of the online patches that were applied and that you want to roll back.
Review the rollback results and perform the verification steps described in the patch readme.